Around 3,670 indigenous Pankararu or Pankaru, live in an area of 8,100 hectares in the municipality of Tacaratu, in an indigenous reservation situated between the headquarters of the municipality and the city of Petrolândia, at the margins of the São Francisco River, in Pernambuco.

Indians had a great influence on the ethnic background, culture, customs and Portuguese spoken in Brazil. In Pernambuco, words such as Gravatá, Caruaru, Garanhuns and neighbourhoods of Recife likeParnamirim and Capunga are associated with ancient sites of indigenous housing.

Jerônimo de Albuquerque was born in Portugal, at the beginning of the 16th Century, to Lopo de Albuquerque and Joana de Bulhões.

In place of cooked black beans, maniçoba is a delicacy made with cassava leaves, known as ‘maniva’ in the Northern states. Its name comes from the Tupi “mandi'sowa”, which means cassava leaf.

When peeled, the latter were white as Mani. With this, the Indians thanked Tupã, and since then have not stopped planting and eating from that root, giving it the name Mani-oca, which means ‘house of Mani’. Through the elaboration of beijus and cauim – a popular drink among them.